The on-and-off talks with Indiana involving Jermaine O'Neal -- recently rumored to be on again -- appear to be dying a quick and quiet death.

According to those familiar with the particulars, the Nets aren't entirely against swapping Vince Carter and spare parts for O'Neal, even if the Pacers big man has $44.3 million coming to him in the next two seasons.

The major snag is O'Neal's chronic knee problem, which has kept him out of action since Jan. 19, and may keep him out until the trade deadline -- making all discussion moot.

Such a swap would be made to appease Jason Kidd (for now, anyway), but with O'Neal ailing at the same time Carter appears to be nearing full health, it would be problematic.

For the fourth straight game, Darrell Armstrong was Kidd's primary sub last night against Minnesota, but coach Lawrence Frank hesitated to suggest that Marcus Williams has been dropped from the rotation.

Of course, he also said that Armstrong was initially given the nod because of geography.

"Going into that game in Orlando, I went with Darrell to tap into the fact that he played there, and he played pretty well," the coach said earnestly. "Then Charlotte, and the fact that he's from Gastonia, (N.C.) and he put together some more (good) stretches.

"(But) both guys are capable. It's going to come back around. Darrell has done a (better) job of organizing and being efficient and hitting singles -- trying to keep that unit efficient. But we think Marcus has a bright future and will get another crack at it."

The Nets brass held a "town hall meeting" at the practice facility Monday night, and if the 300 fans wanted to know how Rod Thorn was going to finesse the Kidd situation, the answer was easy.

He wasn't even going to try.

"Should we just trade him just because he wants to be traded?" the Nets president asked rhetorically. "Not while I'm here."

Stromile Swift entered the game early last night (three minutes into the second quarter), which was entirely unexpected, considering he had played all of five minutes since being shipped in from Memphis four games ago.

Before the game, he and Frank were planning to take it slowly, given that the Nets' playbook consists of roughly 130 plays, and he's had only one full practice. But Swift has worked assiduously on learning the offense, running through dummy drills with four coaches every day since his arrival.

"If Sean (Williams) hadn't played as well as he has, there would be more opportunity for Stro," Frank said. "We're going to get him in there at some point and see. It's a good problem to have, I guess."

"After the break, he might work me in more," Swift figured. "I'm just trying to take it a step at a time. This is a new position for me. I feel out of place a little bit, but that's normal for coming into a new situation. Hopefully everything works out."

How did Sean Williams learn about his inclusion in the Rookie-Sophomore game next weekend?